I was actually going to do an Auchentoshan vertical today, but Auchentoshan is for me, amongst the lightest malts in Scotland, a definite summer's dram. So as the temperature lowers and I'm still not through with my discovery journey of whiskies from alternative geographic origin, let's do another strange tasting, this time from the european mainland, all single malts.
Embrujo Whisky Puro Malta NAS 40% OB Spain
One from Paloma, from Destilerias Liber S.L. Please don't ask, I just know they have a pretty decent looking website confirming its a single malt, and the representation box and bottle are exquisite with blue photos of very clean distillation gear. Bronze color, probably added some e-stuff. It smells very nice, but also dusty and oaky, one-dimensional and boring, maybe this isn't single malt? It's just too mild one the nose, minty, oaky, with some vanilla as well, fresh bourbon cask? Am I dreaming? Lets taste. The taste is light, sweet, again vanilla, and some short peppery finish. Water? Yes! It gets a bit rounder, but now its as light as apple juice. Next one!
Light aperitif, but you can't have it alongside a shrimp, the flavor will drown: 2
The Glen Els NAS 45.9% OB Germany
"Nordisch by Nature" is the slogan for this whisky, I don't know what is the catch in that phrase, but lets try it, the Germans have adapted other things with great luck, such as artsy triples from Belgium. Lots more strength on the nose, it smells sweet and smoky, promising, but still there's this weird vanilla-like sweetness that, granted I'm right about the Embrujo, definitively don't come from a bourbon cask. The initial interesting smokiness soon disappears and it becomes uninteresting. The taste is dry and a bit sour with a rich, buttery and creamy aftertaste. A really buttery whisky, I can't remember coming across such one before. Buttered and sugared pancakes.
Nice one, I'm going to buy more of these if opportunity is presented: 6
Goldlys 20yo 1991-2011 46% OB First Release Belgium
A first release at 20yo, you don't see many of those these days. From a bourbon cask and limited to 1100 bottles. I Belgian never tried malt before, but are they as skilled as they are with brewing beer, I gthink I might be in for a pleasant treat. It'd be perfect if they bottled it at cask strength as well, a small slap in the face to all the new whisky distilleries bottling spirit and weird cask enhanced youngsters. It smells fat, peaty, creamy, fresh, scallops, honey and beer braised beef. Meaty is the word I was looking for. The taste is mild and short compared to the nose, slight rubbery, a bit like overdone duck eggs and bitter weeds. The aftertaste is bitter and herbal. It's not far from some scotch whisky, on some respects, but again far from the best scotch. Best without water.
Nice on the nose, after that it misses its momentum: 4
Mackmyra NAS 50.6% OB 02 10th. anniversary Sweden
Time to try this one then, I believe it is my first cask strength whisky outside Great Britain and Ireland. From our neighboring country Sweden, both they and the Danes have a handful distilleries running at this point. I guess its typical for us Norwegians to be a bit behind, but we're coming along, as the Aas & Egge Single Malt eau di Biere is on the market, well all sold out now that is. If you wonder, they couldn't call it whisky as it was distilled from beer which contains hops. This one smells light and citrussy, lemon peel and fresh wood fruits, berries and wet moss. The taste is burnt, spirity, far from a good experience, it needs more layers to create a complexity that I look for in a good malt. This is a straight forward spirity adventure for the ones that likes that.. no wait, let's see if water helps. It gets lighter, and a bit more drinkable, a massive improvement from the rather raw and oak and alcohol clustered beast it started as.
Seems to me the biggest benefit of the scottish are the experience: 3
Glann Ar Mor NAS 46% OB Kornog Taouarc'd
If my sources are correct, is this a peated whisky from France, 3years old. I have tried a very little intriguing 3yo Bowmore bottled for a shop in Germany near the whore district in Hamburg. Could it be a fake?:) Anyway, this one isn't, and I think this is the first peated whisky I've tried from outside Great Britain and Ireland. Oh the Connemara... It smells peaty and perfumy, sort of this sweet peatiness that I find in some of the diluted Laphroaigs. The peat overshadows everything else except some sweet woody stuff, lawn right after autumn rain. Fresh and peaty. The taste is peaty and minty, the minty flavour is kind of withdrawn as it doesn't strike me until after the initial peat sensation is over. OK, it's not fantastic, it's kind of light and uninteresting, but in comparison to the other whiskies I've tried today, its not as spirity as the others, and the peat and other flavors gets to have a say.
Definitively the most balanced up until now, hence the score: 6.5
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